Roku TV Is the First Smart TV Worth Using

Smarter smart TV. Photo: Roku

Most “smart TVs” are anything but. The user interfaces usually seem like they were thrown together after a weekend binge on How to Use Flash MX manuals. And this is the big reason why you’ll usually find a set-top box underneath those so-called Smart TVs.

Opportunity for improvement here is ripe, so Roku is teaming up with some TV manufacturers to make an internet-connected television with actual brains. Soon, you’ll be able to buy a TV with a real Roku box built in.

The Roku TV is an actual line of TVs, sort of like the mythical Apple TV HDTV. But, you know, real. The Roku-powered HDTV sets, due this coming fall, are the result of a partnership between the Roku people and the major TV manufacturers TCL and Hisense. The TVs will have the Roku UI built in, giving you access to Roku’s library of over 1,200 apps (aka “channels”) including Netflix, Amazon, Rdio, Vudu, Pandora, and Amazon. Additional devices plugged into the TVs will appear as “channels” in the UI.

Simple remote Photo: Roku

When the first Roku TVs arrive this fall, the models will range from 32 inches to 55 inches. Hisense and TCL are far from household names in the United States, but these companies are giants in the home video industry — Hisense is actually the fifth largest TV manufacturer in the world. Still, the Roku TV would appeal more to consumers with a name like Samsung, Sony, or Panasonic attached to it. Of course, Roku says it is open to any other manufacturers adding its UI to their TVs.

The new TVs will include a newly designed Roku remote in the box. The remote has only only 20 buttons, which Roku says is half the number of buttons found on traditional remotes.

Roku also says it will be handling all software updates on Roku TVs. So there’s no worry of your TV falling behind other Roku devices because the manufacturer is slow to roll out new software — sort of like the pain many Android device owners regularly experience. Plus, with Roku handling the smarts for them, your internet-services software package is one less thing TV-makers have to worry about.